


Mother

by NeaThompson



Series: The many relationships of Maryse Lightwood [2]
Category: The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Gen, Good Parent Maryse Lightwood, M/M, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Motherhood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23924269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeaThompson/pseuds/NeaThompson
Summary: Being the mother of four was not an easy task, and, in Maryse's experience, the only thing you can always do for your children is loving them.------------------------------------------Ch. 2 Isabelle.Maryse adored her daughter from the moment she found out about her
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Alec Lightwood & Maryse Lightwood, Clary Fray/Jace Wayland, Isabelle Lightwood & Maryse Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Maryse Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Maryse Lightwood & Max Lightwood
Series: The many relationships of Maryse Lightwood [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654750
Comments: 4
Kudos: 57





	1. Alexander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It wouldn't be until a decade after giving birth to him that she would understand how she herself was a child when she had Alec.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because Maryse Lightwood is a good mother, no matter what shadowhunters might have led you to believe.
> 
> This is a small series of Maryse reflecting on her children and her relationship with them through the years.

It wouldn't be until a decade after giving birth to him that she would understand how she herself was a child when she had Alec. 

Eighteen years old, fresh out of the academy and not even a year into her marriage, Maryse thought bringing a child into her life would mark the start of a new, better world, a world without demons, without downworlders, a world where her son could live happy and peaceful. 

That was all she wanted for him from the moment she knew he was coming, and she was determined to do it right.

Back then she really believed in the Circle and what she thought was their Angel given duty, she truly and without a doubt believed all those with demon blood were dangerous, and when Alec was born she had one more reason to keep fighting. Her son would live happy and peaceful even if she had to kill every last downworlder with her own hands.

Alec was a beautiful baby, with rounded cheeks and long legs, and his face was the spitting image of his mother's; he liked playing with bouncy balls and couldn't sleep without the rag doll that had once been Maryse's and at least one of the many French songs Céline had taught her. At one month old he already recognized his parents and responded when he heard his name, even the Silent Brothers said he was advanced for his age.

He was perfect.

As if they had planned it Eliza, Céline and Jocelyn all got pregnant within the same month, and little Alec, barely eight months old, was ecstatic. Eventually, when their belly's started to swell, the three women would often be found at Lightwood Hall with a baby boy cuddling their stomach and babbling to the babies inside. "My babies," he would try to say, and Maryse's heart melted every time she heard him.

The uprising didn't go as planned, they were defeated before the actual battle started. It shouldn't have been a surprise, now at 40 years of age she understood that a handful of teenagers and young adults didn't stand a chance against the whole Clave. Alec was at home when it happened, being cared by Céline and Jocelyn, who had yet to give birth. 

Maryse, a true believer of the cause, decided she had to fight, and die if needed, so her son would live in a purer world, even if that meant there was a possibility Alec would lose his mother ( _she hated herself for even thinking that_ ).

It was Robert who got her to understand, the fight was lost, their presence wouldn't make a difference to the Circle's imminent fall, but it would mean the world for them to be with Alec now.

"We might be imprisoned after this, I'd rather spend my time in my house, with my son." That hit her like a bucket of water, she took her husband's hand and left the Accords Hall right before everything went wrong.

Seeing Alexander after their defeat was the biggest relief she'd ever felt. She picked him up, not even noticing that neither of the women in charge of him were there, and both her and Robert wrapped themselves around Alec for what felt like an eternity, and little, sweet, innocent Alec could not understand why his mama and daddy were crying so much.

The trial was exhaustive, luckily the Lightwoods had many allies and a lot of debts to collect. Maryse and Robert Lightwood were sentenced to exile and almost lost Alec in the process. They were almost immediately sent to New York, leaving Idris with only two suitcases, a diaper bag, and the order to not come back without explicit permission from the Consul; and while Robert seemed to resent their sentence, Maryse could not thank the Angel any more for the mercy shown to them, they may have had lost the right to their homeland, they may have been sent to one of the world's most demon ridden city to lead a decrepit Institute, they may never be able to see their families or friends again; but they were together, just the three of them. Their little family was together, and together they would make a happy and peaceful living out of a sad and chaotic situation.

They arrived to an empty Institute, right in the heart of Manhattan and disguised as an abandoned cathedral. Even through the strategically placed glamours, the façade of the building looked bad, the gardens were ridden of any color, and the gate seemed to be mere days from collapsing due to all the rusting.

Maryse couldn't understand how this place was supposed to be the headquarters for all of New York's shadowhunters, and even worse than that, she did not have the least idea of how they were going to start anew and build a better future for Alec in a place like this. 

About to weeks after thei arrival, the Clave decided that New York would now be the unofficial penitentiary colony for some of the former Circle members; and with that, like a thunderstorm after a drought, Hodge Starkweather arrived to their door. They hadn't been exactly friends during their Circle days, but, with him here, they now could spend a little more time worrying about themselves and caring for their son instead of taking care of the Institute during all their waking hours.

Alexander kept growing, even in his young age, he proved himself to be smart, caring, and strong. As a toddler, he liked to sit besides his father while he filled reports and pretend to take his own notes on brightly colored post it's with the box of crayons Hodge had given him. Maryse also found him to be enamoured with her hair, he liked to comb his fingers through it and braid it in ways that always left it in tight and painful knots. Still, whenever he stared at his, admittedly questionable, hairstyle creations, his blue eyes lit up and his little face filled with excitement and pride, and then, every time she saw him like that, she felt that sitting in front of her boudoir, for almost an hour, trying to comb knots and ribbons out of her hair, was a very small price to pay in exchange for her son's happiness.

At two years old, he begged for a sibling, he wanted to be a big brother so he could love, and protect, and play with his little brother or sister. Maryse thought that, maybe, it wasn't a bad idea, and so Robert and her started trying.

It wasn't difficult for her to conceive, a mere two months after they decided to have a new baby, she found herself vomiting every morning for a week. After a quick visit from a Silent Brother, Maryse was already planning on a nursery and thinking of baby names.   
  
Alexander was over the moon when they finally gave him the news, he would not stop talking about all the things he would teach the baby, and how much he already loved his little sister. And, a few months later, even though it was a 50/50 chance, Maryse still marveled at his accurate prediction. 

Both Robert and her agreed that their children should be trained as soon as they could hold a weapon without hurting themselves, and though Hodge, as weapons master, should have technically be the one to train them, Maryse got really involved. 

From the beginning, little Alec showed himself to be quite a skilled fighter. Unlike herself, her son followed forms and orders, he understood the rules and he played by them, he was calm under pressure and never lost his temper, he anticipated his opponent's movements, and, with a quick motion, he ended every challenge. 

He also took easily to long range weapons. He was good with throwing knives and the eventual axe or spear, but he was a prodigy with the bow. Her son could split an arrow with another one by the age of eight. She could not have been more proud, and she never failed to let him know.

Short after giving birth to Max, they received a permit to not only leave New York, but to go to Alicante as the Institute's representatives. 

Maryse had not seen Idris in almost a decade and, while she held her memories close to her heart, she could not deny that she was forgetting. She couldn't quite place what street led from her home to the Gard, she didn't remember the smell of Brocelind Forest, or whether Angel Square was south or north to the Accords Hall. She could not be happier that she was going back.

And so they packed their bags, kissed all three children goodbye, and left for almost two weeks.

Since gaining back the Consul's favor had a price, for almost a year, Maryse kept her mind and time focused on Clave affairs. Trying to get back her family's reputation was not an easy thing, and, in retrospective, it was her children who suffered the most because of it.

Even when they meant well with all what they were doing, Maryse could recognize how she and Robert were slowly drifting away from their children

Alec finally learned how to properly braid hair, because he had to do Izzy's every morning. He learned how to change diapers, because baby Max got fuzzy whenever someone outside direct family tried to. After a lot of wasted batter and an almost burnt kitchen, he learned Maryse's secret pancake recipe, all with the homemade blueberry jelly that Izzy liked and Max's fruit purés.

When Jace moved in with them Maryse wasn't all too happy, but putting her own problems aside, she saw how the boy's presence made a positive impact in her children, specially in Alec. Even if he still was a responsible and obedient child, who took good care of his siblings and remembered all his lessons, her eldest had a renewed air of happiness and innocence, he ran in the halls of the Institute, chasing a certain blond, he snuck out at night to get cookies for their secret sleepovers, he passed notes, to Hodge's irritation, during class. He was being the boy he had not been in a long time. 

Looking back, she should have known. Alec and Jace's relationship seemed like just a little more than a mere friendship, at least on Alec's side. The way he spoke about the younger boy, with some kind of infatuation, how he always took the blame for Jace's pranks, how his blue eyes would lit whenever he came into a room. She should have known. Her boy had a crush.

But she didn't. It never once passed through her mind that her Alec could have those kind of inclinations, she just saw her sons being the best friends and loving each other as brothers in spite of not sharing blood. That's why, when they announced their intentions of becoming parabatai, she wasn't surprised, happy, of course, but not surprised at all.

Before all hell broke loose, she always saw Alec as the anonymous savior of her kids. Jace was brilliant and loud, everything he did he did with a bang, he liked to be the best and be recognized by it. Izzy was what she herself had once been, gorgeous and dangerous, with black hair down to her waist and heels not made for walking, let alone fighting. They were both outstanding, they fought, and they killed, and they were running out of space in their metaphorical trophy cases. Not Alec, though. Her quiet Alec, her reserved Alec, her discreet Alec, he didn't want the glory, didn't need it, he was happy with watching everyone else's back while they took the glory strikes, for Alec a successful mission was not one where he killed a whole nest of demons, but one where he had protected his partners, one in which none of his party had been hurt.

Alec didn't kill a demon until he was eighteen, Maryse was well aware of that, but he had saved his siblings in countless occasions and helped them in many more, and that, to her, that made him the best shadowhunter he could be.

Alec kissed Magnus Bane. 

Alec kissed Magnus Bane, in the Accords Hall, and in front of all the Clave.

Alec kissed Magnus Bane on the lips, with one of his hands holding his waist and the other cupping his cheek.

Alec kissed Magnus Bane.

Even after seeing it with her own eyes, after hearing Robert gasp besides her, after everyone had gone silent as her son kissed a warlock, she could not believe it. Alec, her Alexander, her sensible, responsible, and proud firstborn, had, not only revealed himself as the lover of a warlock, but a male warlock. She refused to accept it, it could not be, her son was good, he was normal, not some kind of deviant. This had to be a twisted joke, or maybe her exhausted mind was playing tricks on her, it simply could not be.

And yet, when they finally broke their embrace, her son turned a serious gaze directly at her and Robert, maybe looking for some kind of acceptance, or maybe just to challenge them, as if to say _"This is who I am, and this is who I love. And I don't care what you think about it"._

And though the apparent look on his eyes was defying, a mother knows. And Maryse knew that deep under the rebellion in Alec's eyes there was uncertainty, shame, and fear. He finally locked eyes with her, and at the moment she felt tears making their way through, she saw how her baby boy's own blue eyes got shinier and his lips quivered. His expression reminded her of the little boy who would braid her hair, who would sing his siblings to sleep, who would sit on the counter while she cooked, and who would ask a million questions about anything and everything. He reminded her of a time when he was vulnerable, when he was just a child hiding behind her skirt to feel safe, and in this moment, oh how she wished she could shield him from all which could hurt him.

And it was then that Maryse remembered when she had lost who once was the person she loved the most. Back when Max had told her about the mundane, when she rejected him because of the one he loved, and how her heart broke the day she found his good bye letter. She would not lose her son, she could not lose him, not after all she had already lost. She decided, then, that whoever Alec chose to love, would not matter to her, as long as they made her son happy. And if accepting that meant she would have to let go of forty years of prejudice, then so be it.

Robert left the Accords Hall shortly after, his head down and muttering under his breath, he didn't speak a word to their son, nor did he try to reach him, and poor Alexander could only try to hide his hurt. So right after she came out of her initial shock and the mental journey to the past she had taken, Maryse ran through the crowd to where the three of her children were hugging. After walking what had felt like miles, she arrived to her son's side, and, without a word, she threw her arms around him. Alec was tall, way taller than her, and somehow, in that moment, he felt so small in her arms, he had managed to get his head under her chin, and while they both cried and she ran her fingers through his black hair, she spoke reassuring and loving words into his ear.

She didn't know it then, but Alexander would, in the next years, make her the happiest mother to live once and again. 

Now, after almost an hour of meditating on the past, her mind came back into her body, and she found herself in a rocking chair, singing a French lullaby under her breath, and staring into the two boys fast asleep in a bed that was almost too small for both of them. She was, again, babysitting her grandsons, while her son and his husband were Angel knows where celebrating their wedding anniversary. Not that she minded, of course.

She finished the lullaby, kissed both little foreheads, one caramel brown and one deep blue, and retired to her room, after all, she had to wake up early to make pancakes for everyone before Alec and Magnus came to pick up the kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess that while I'm gonna write about Maryse and her kids through all their lives, Imma give special focus to one thing about each of the Lightwoods and Maryse's thoughts about it, for Alec it was his coming out, stay tuned to find out the rest.


	2. Isabelle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maryse adored her daughter from the moment she found out about her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two of my take on Maryse´s relationship with her children, this time Izzy.

Maryse adored her daughter from the moment she found out about her. She and Robert had been trying, and little Alec was desperate for a sibling to play with, also, with the anniversary of their exile coming up, the news of a child had the whole family in an ecstatic state.

From the moment she had given the news to Alec, he started going around telling everyone about his little sister. Both Maryse and Robert tried, without result, to tell him that they didn't know what the baby was going to be, but no matter the explanation the little boy stayed strong on his opinion. He was right.

Isabelle was born premature. Labor pains awoke Maryse in the middle of the night before she had even reached thirty five weeks, through clenched teeth, she managed to wake up Robert and tell him to call a Silent Brother because this baby was not waiting. Her little girl was dangerously small and as fragile as a porcelain doll. Still Isabelle managed a fairly loud cry as she was born, and her little eyes moved from one place to the other with astounding speed. Maryse would never stop thanking the Angel for her baby girl's strength and determination.

Whereas Alec had been an easy baby to handle, Isabelle was proving herself to be a true challenge to care for. She got fussy whenever anyone outside her family touched her, she wouldn't nap unless her brother laid besides her, and she would only feed for a couple of minutes at a time and way to many times a day. Honestly, if Maryse didn't love her so much, she would have already gone crazy. 

In contrast to her unruly personality, Isabelle looked like an angel. Her rosy cheeks and big eyes reminded Maryse of the cherubs painted on religious frescoes, and her little mouth had the most adorable curves, making her seem as if she was always smiling. Whenever she had a sleepless night, Maryse would go to her daughter's crib and just watch her sleep, marvelling in the beautiful child she had created. 

Alec liked to watch his sister too, whenever he had free time he could be found holding on to the bars of Izzy's crib, just looking at her and trying to sing the old lullaby Maryse always sung.

Their bond only grew when Izzy started to walk. She and Alec became very close, just like she had been with Max. Izzy made an habit of spending all her waking hours following her brother. And when the time for a nap came she would only sleep if she had him right next to her, with his hand on her hair and his arms around her. At those times, Maryse liked to get herself a cup of coffee, sit on the bed besides her sleeping daughter, and talk in a hushed voice to her son. Those memories were ones she would always hold close to her heart.

As she grew, Maryse found that in spite of the obvious resemblance to Robert, Isabelle was turning out to be a carbon copy of herself in attitude and personality. From an early age the girl was enamoured with the idea of hunting and fighting, and Maryse vowed to herself that she would make no distinction based on the gender of her children. They were both shadow hunters, and they would be trained as such. It was because of this that many of the skills that her own mother had instilled on her, like cooking or sewing, were somehow lost in the raising of her kids.

Then there was also the thing about her daughter's mind. While Alec had an amazing memory and a great eagerness to learn, Izzy hated the idea of lessons and studying. Still she managed to do well thanks to a pure sense of logic and wit. She was fast in her thinking and almost always came with answers even before Hodge could finish his questions. Maryse didn't remember ever being that smart.

Sadly, having such a sharp mind meant that her little girl often noticed things that she shouldn't. She didn't know it then, but little Izzy had actually seen Robert with _her_ , she had heard Maryse cry in her room on the nights daddy wasn't home, and she could feel the hostility between her parents at the breakfast table. No child should have to notice that.

There's no denying that Maryse made many mistakes as a mother, she was a bit too hard during training and maybe just a little lenient on bedtimes. But if there was one thing that she regretted, one thing that still after more than ten years weighed heavy on her soul, it was the way she used her daughter. Isabelle had nothing to do with her marital problems, the girl was just eight years old, she was supposed to be sleeping after a long day, not creeping into her parent's room to comfort her crying mother.

But there she was, her little girl, in her grey nightdress and her braided hair, hugging her and asking what was wrong. The words she said next were probably some of her most regretted ones. 

"Oh Izzy, never love a man", she remembers saying, "They'll take your heart and they'll break it. And even if it heals, it will never be the same."

Maryse was dying inside, in that moment she had truly believed her words. She really thought that she was giving a good advice to her daughter, after all if she never loved, then she would never lose, unlike Maryse. 

Baby Max brought joy to all the Lightwoods, but Izzy was excited in a way she'd never seen. Her daughter had declared herself the best big sister in the whole world before she had even laid eyes on Max, and did she live up to it. Izzy spent so much time with her baby brother that Alec was actually starting to get jealous, the girl just laughed at him and said that even if she was a big sister now she would always be his little sister. Maryse may have shed a small tear the first time she heard that.

Then came Jace. From the very beginning Izzy, took to him like fire to gasoline, they were both loud and bright, they liked to pull pranks on people and they were always trying to outdo each other in training. There was also that little glint in Izzy's eye, the way her smile was just a little bigger when Jace was present, and the way she actively avoided talking about it with Maryse. Her little girl had a crush on the boy. It was weirdly fitting, in retrospect, how both Alec and Izzy, who could never agree on something, were falling for the same boy.

Maryse had to give it to Jace though, he handled Izzy´s crush with a grace and empathy that she didn´t think a twelve year old was capable of. Thankfully, Izzy left her enamourment with her heart intact. From then on it seemed as if no one would ever break her.

As each year passed Izzy became more and more beautiful, by the time she was fifteen she had the biggest brown eyes and the longest dark hair, and, much to Robert's dismay, the body of a woman. Her daughter was beautiful and she knew it, Maryse didn't think she'd ever met a teenager that was as comfortable with their body as Izzy was. She also knew how to use it, Maryse had taught her daughter the benefits that came with being a woman from the moment she could understand them. After all, it's not that hard to seduce demons when one is a beautiful girl.

At sixteen years old, Izzy had a very considerable list of broken hearts behind her and while Maryse certainly did not approve of her daughter's flings, she was relieved that it was her breaking hearts and not the other way around.

Then came the vampire. At first Maryse thought nothing of it, her daughter fraternizing with downworlders wasn't shocking news, and she actually felt good that the prejudices of her youth had not been passed to her children. But then, everything came falling down.

The Battle of Alicante was hard on all the Lightwoods, they lost one of their own that day. Max hadn't even had his rune ceremony yet and he died in the war. Maryse felt as if someone had ripped her heart out of her chest, but she stayed strong, for her sons, for her husband, for her Izzy. Even if Maryse didn't think anyone was suffering more than her, she had to admit thant her daughter's pain was very close to her own. Izzy didn't attend the funeral, she locked herself up in her room and didn't let anyone in, except for the vampire.

After Alec had done what he did, Maryse couldn't let herself be phased by anything regarding her children's love lives, so if Izzy wanted to date an undead then so be it, as long as her daughter stayed happy she would be too.

But the happiness didn't last long, and Maryse's words were proven right. The vampire cheated on her daughter. Izzy came crying to her mother, an ironic parallel to a night many years ago, she laid her head on her Maryse's lap as she asked why. “Why did he do it? I loved him, mom!” The woman stayed quiet, this was the reason Izzy should have never gave her heart away, now it was broken and even if she could find a way top ut it back together, there would still be cracks.

No matter how much Maryse hated the vampire, she couldn't deny his bravery, the sacrifice he made for her son's boyfriend should've been enough for her to forgive him. Even Izzy already had, but whenever she saw him she could only see Robert, turning his back on her for another woman.

When they got engaged Maryse took Simon -calling him 'the vampire' didn't seem fitting anymore- by the arm and led him to an empty room.

“My daughter loves you Simon,” she stated, “As far as I know you are the only man she has ever truly loved” Maryse could see the discomfort in his eyes, maybe even a little fear, that was good. “You are also the only man who has ever managed to truly hurt her.”

She saw Simon gulp and stay quiet, even after she paused her speech. “ It also seems that you do love her, so I'm going to let your past mistakes pass. But you need to understand that I won't give you any other chance. If you hurt my daughter again, I will hurt you.”

The man mumbled something and Maryse didn't really care enough to ask about it. Her message had been sent, she put on her best smile, as if she hadn't just threatened her daughter's fiancé. “Don't be scared boy, just make my baby happy and everything will be alright.”

Maryse gave one last look to her daughter, trying to see if there was anything missing or out of place. Isabelle had never looked more beautiful, her hair pulled up in a dark knot, her body hugged by the gold fabric of her dress, and the radiant smile on her face painted the most amazing picture of a bride.

She couldn't help but let a few tears roll on her cheeks as she recalled her daughter, from the small baby that she had once been to the powerful woman standing in front her. Even if she still wasn't thrilled with the idea of Simon, Maryse had to admit that love looked good on Izzy, and she wasn't about to pull a Marisa Trueblood and tell her daughter, on her wedding day, that she didn't agree with her choice of groom.

Still, as she saw her daughter, her arm looped through Alec´s, walking down the aisle, she got the feeling that she would be alright, that maybe she had made a good choice. She prayed to the Angel that she did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I love a good Maryse-Izzy relationship, the show my have made many believe otherwise because of the characterization they decided to give Maryse, but if you´ve read the books you know baby loves her mama.  
> Also, big emphasis on the whole hearts are breakable thing cause in my opinion one of maryse´s worst mistakes as a mother was instilling that idea on izzy, but I truly think that it was an honest mistake, in her mind she was protecting izzy.  
> Also also, I just can´t see Maryse liking Simon, he literally cheated on Izzy. But as long as she´s happy I think Maryse will put up with it.
> 
> Anyways thanks for reading.


End file.
